Increasingly desert adapted landscape trees are being used in a wide variety of landscape designs that range from naturalistic re-creations of desert scenes to traditional, highly formal landscapes. To address the demand for both formal and more natural formed trees growers are using both seed and vegetative propagation methods for producing desert trees. Each method has virtues and shortcomings. Historically grower have relied almost exclusively on seeds for propagation of desert trees. Producing trees from seed is an ideal method for producing large numbers of plants.

Growing from seed has the added virtue of insuring that all the genetic diversity, character and horticultural qualities of desert region trees are represented within the inventory. Variety in shape and form is particularly valuable for landscape designs that attempt to recreate desert settings or integrate with surrounding native desert. Producing quantities of uniform or similarly shaped trees, like those used in streetscape planting or more traditional landscape designs, can best be accomplished by growing large numbers of seed propagated specimens.

To maintain high quality, trees that exhibit undesired horticultural characteristics (thorns, shape, leaf form or number) must be rogued or removed from the production system. The criteria used for roguing a tree will vary depending on the specie being produced. Highest quality is achieved when roguing is done continually in all production container sizes. As a result, roguing is an expensive, time consuming, yet highly effective means of insuring that mature specimens exhibit only the desired horticultural qualities.

An alternative to seed production is vegetative propagation (also called clonal propagation or cloning). With cloning, plant parts (typically fresh, lush, green stem growth) are treated with plant growth hormones to encourage the formation of new roots. In this way new plants, identical to the original "mother" plant, are produced. Rooting plant parts insures greater uniformity and reduces the need for repeated roguing. Cloning provides a useful method for producing large numbers of trees with similar form, structure, flower color, leaf pattern or any other desired quality or appearance.

While cloned plants will exhibit all the desired physical features of the mother plants, they will also possess all the positive and negative physiological and horticultural qualities of the parent. Careful and continual evaluation of parent plants is essential to insure that undesired qualities like poor rooting, susceptibility to disease or insect pests, wind throw or cold tenderness are avoided. By using both seed and clonal propagation methods, growers can better meet the increasing demand for both formal and natural form desert adapted landscape trees.